The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag visited today the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein El-Hilweh in south Lebanon.

Accompanied by the Acting Director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for the Near East (UNRWA), Ms. Heli Uusikyla, the Special Coordinator met with camp representatives who briefed her on the socio-economic and security situation there. She also visited an UNRWA-managed health centre and school and a women's centre.

"During the visit, camp residents and officials briefed me on the challenges faced due to crowded living conditions, unemployment and poverty. The United Nations, through UNRWA, will continue to assist where it can and to seek critical support from donors. We hope new support will also be forthcoming at the International Humanitarian Pledging Conference that is taking place today in Kuwait," Ms. Kaag said during her visit. There are some 55,500 Palestinian refugees in Ein El-Hilweh camp, in addition to over 6000 Palestinian Refugees from Syria. Noting the high demographic density, the Special Coordinator hoped more could be done to ensure efficient shelter rehabilitation inside the camp.

Ms. Kaag welcomed the role played by the joint security force in maintaining stability in the camp and urged that cooperation between Palestinian and Lebanese authorities continue to work to the benefit of both communities.

Today's visit was the first by the Special Coordinator to Ein El-Hilweh, the largest of the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

Troops from Niger and Chad killed 47 Boko Haram fighters when they repelled an attack by the Islamist insurgents in southeastern Niger, Chad's army said on Tuesday.

The fighting took place in Bosso, a Niger village near the border with Nigeria.

The government forces did not suffer any fatalities, Chad's army said in a statement.

Casualty figures are often hard to independently verify. However, a humanitarian source confirmed the losses saying 40 to 47 Boko Haram militants had been killed in Bosso and its surroundings.

The rebels were pushed back to Nigeria, and at least four Boko Haram vehicles -- one of them armoured -- were also destroyed, a Chad military source said.

A Niger member of parliament said they had fled to Malam Fatori, a Nigerian border town near Bosso that Chad and Niger say they want to take back from Boko Haram.

The Nigerian army, however, says that Malam Fatori is under its control.

The private radio station Anfani, based in the city of Diffa in southeastern Niger also close to the border with Nigeria, reported "heavy aerial bombing" on Monday, mainly around Bosso and Malam Fatori.

Another Chad and Niger army operation on Sunday in Talagam -- a small town situated between Damasak, a town that was recaptured from the Islamic insurgents, and Malam Fatori -- led to the deaths of 54 Boko Haram fighters, Chad's military said.

Two soldiers from the coalition were also killed and 15 were injured, the military added.

A humanitarian organisation source reported the deaths of three Chadian soldiers after the fighting on Sunday.

Thousands of soldiers from Niger and Chad have been stationed for nearly three months in southeastern Niger. They launched an offensive in early March across the border into northeastern Nigeria, parts of which are a stronghold of the Islamic insurgents.

"The situation is totally under control" in Niger, said former foreign minister Mohamed Bazoum, who is close to the country's president Mahamadou Issoufou.

"The risk of attacks taking place are very low due to the elimination of all potential players," said Bazoum.

The jihadists made sweeping territorial gains in Nigeria's northeast in 2014 but appear to have been weakened by a sustained regional fight-back since February.

More than 13,000 people have been killed and some 1.5 million made homeless since Boko Haram launched its bloody insurgency in 2009.

Troops from Niger and Chad killed 47 Boko Haram fighters when they repelled an attack by the Islamist insurgents in southeastern Niger, Chad's army said on Tuesday.

The fighting took place in Bosso, a Niger village near the border with Nigeria.

The government forces did not suffer any fatalities, Chad's army said in a statement.

Casualty figures are often hard to independently verify. However, a humanitarian source confirmed the losses saying 40 to 47 Boko Haram militants had been killed in Bosso and its surroundings.

The rebels were pushed back to Nigeria, and at least four Boko Haram vehicles -- one of them armoured -- were also destroyed, a Chad military source said.

A Niger member of parliament said they had fled to Malam Fatori, a Nigerian border town near Bosso that Chad and Niger say they want to take back from Boko Haram.

The Nigerian army, however, says that Malam Fatori is under its control.

The private radio station Anfani, based in the city of Diffa in southeastern Niger also close to the border with Nigeria, reported "heavy aerial bombing" on Monday, mainly around Bosso and Malam Fatori.

Another Chad and Niger army operation on Sunday in Talagam -- a small town situated between Damasak, a town that was recaptured from the Islamic insurgents, and Malam Fatori -- led to the deaths of 54 Boko Haram fighters, Chad's military said.

Two soldiers from the coalition were also killed and 15 were injured, the military added.

A humanitarian organisation source reported the deaths of three Chadian soldiers after the fighting on Sunday.

Thousands of soldiers from Niger and Chad have been stationed for nearly three months in southeastern Niger. They launched an offensive in early March across the border into northeastern Nigeria, parts of which are a stronghold of the Islamic insurgents.

"The situation is totally under control" in Niger, said former foreign minister Mohamed Bazoum, who is close to the country's president Mahamadou Issoufou.

"The risk of attacks taking place are very low due to the elimination of all potential players," said Bazoum.

The jihadists made sweeping territorial gains in Nigeria's northeast in 2014 but appear to have been weakened by a sustained regional fight-back since February.

More than 13,000 people have been killed and some 1.5 million made homeless since Boko Haram launched its bloody insurgency in 2009.

A group of 62 lawyers presented a petition to the Attorney General in Khartoum on Monday, concerning the detention of their colleague El Haj Gadem Ali Azrag since 23 June last year.

Azrag was detained by security agents, when he was returning from the Umbadda Court in Omdurman to his office in downtown Khartoum. He is being held at Kober prison in Khartoum North since then, one of his colleagues told Radio Dabanga.

The lawyers demand that Azrag be released, or brought to trial in case of charges.

Hundreds of medical staff members staged a sit-in at the Ministry of Health in Nyala on Monday, in protest against the delay of their salaries of February.

“Police forces rushed to the ministry to prevent an escalation, in case we would take to the streets,” a protesting doctor reported to Radio Dabanga.

“A large number of employees discovered that their names disappeared from the payroll after the Ministry of Finance had computerised the salary administration. The ministry has not been able to fix the problem until now.”

He said that the medics suspect that there may be another reason for non-payment of their salaries. “The South Darfur authorities want to close any financial gap that may disrupt the course of the election.”

According to an administrative staff member of the Health Ministry about 2160 names are missing in the financial records.

“The Minister of Health refused to respond to the medics’ demands, saying that the salary payment is not his responsibility,” he told Radio Dabanga.

Sana'a/Geneva – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Tuesday called for the urgent removal of obstacles to the delivery to Yemen of vital medical supplies needed to treat casualties from a week of deadly clashes and air strikes.

A shipment of ICRC medical supplies sufficient to treat from 700 to 1,000 people was due to arrive by plane on Tuesday for distribution to hospitals across the country that are running low on the means to treat the war wounded.

So far, efforts to negotiate the safe arrival of the plane have not been successful.

"There are casualties across the country. There have been air strikes in the north, west and south, and clashes between opposing Yemeni armed groups in the center and south, that are putting immense strain on already weak medical services," said Cedric Schweizer, who heads an ICRC team of 300 people in Yemen.

"In order that the wounded get the treatment they deserve, it's essential we deliver urgent medicines and surgical kits," he added.

The ICRC has demanded that humanitarian workers be allowed to work safely, after a Yemeni Red Crescent volunteer, Omar Ali Hassam, was shot dead on Monday in the southern province of A Dhalea while evacuating wounded people.

The ICRC also expressed concern at the high number of civilian casualties and reiterated that those engaged in the armed conflict must respect international humanitarian law (IHL), which protects those taking no part in fighting, and make every effort to protect civilian life and property from harm.

Under IHL it is forbidden to launch attacks that might lead to incidental losses among civilians or cause the destruction of civilian objects that would be disproportionate to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.

The six nights of air strikes and heavy ground combat come on top of years of conflict, drought and insecurity that has left much of the population struggling to find basic health, food and water supplies.

The ICRC has offices in Sana'a, Saada, Aden and Taiz, which are continuing their humanitarian activities.

Ensuring a quick medical response

In the southern governorates, the ICRC has stepped up support for hospitals as Ministry of Health facilities are struggling to cope with the influx of wounded from clashes and street battles.

The ICRC has helped reopen the 22 May Hospital in Aden and provided a kit containing medical supplies to treat between 50 and 70 war-wounded patients. Triage tents were erected at the Al Jomhouri hospital, one of the main treatment centers in Aden, which will speed up patient assessment and referral. Medical centers in the nearby southern provinces of Taiz, Lahj and Al Dhalea have also received ICRC support. Efforts to continue to ensure the region's hospitals have a supply of clean water.

In Saada the situation remains extremely tense with continued air strikes in the northern province. The ICRC has supplied medicine to the Al Munabeh hospital and the city's Al Jomhouri hospital which has been receiving a steady stream of war wounded patients. It has also helped repair the generator at the second medical facility.

In the capital Sana'a, air strikes across the city have continued, straining the capital's medical services. In response to the Al-Hoshoosh and Badr mosque bombings in the city on March 20th that killed at least 140 people and injured 340, the ICRC provided two full war wounded kits and other medical supplies to the three hospitals dealing with most of the casualties.

Elodie and Brahima are both deaf and living in Danané, one of the towns hardest hit by the conflict in western Côte d’Ivoire. For Elodie and Brahima, getting an education or a job seemed almost impossible.
Through the YEP programme (Youth Education Pack), NRC Côte d’Ivoire is helping about 100 marginalised youth with disabilities in the western region. The majority are deaf or hearing impaired. Elodie and Brahima, both 23, have graduated from the programme, and willingly share their experiences:

“I had to drop out of 5th grade because my parents did not have money to keep me in school. Before I joined the YEP programme, I could not really read and could not sew anything. Being deaf held me back and I was very withdrawn,” Elodie, says, and continues:

“My life got better during the YEP training because I learned a profession, sewing, that I am now getting better and better at. Now, I sew children’s clothing that I sell to be able to provide for myself. In addition, I’m better at reading and writing. Thanks to sign language, which I learned at the YEP centre, I have improved my communication with other people who are deaf or hearing impaired. What I’m most proud of is how people have changed the way they look at me because I’m working. I am viewed fully as a member of society and I have many friends now. My dream is to become a great sewing teacher so that I can support young girls who want to learn the profession.”

Similarly, Brahima has always felt that being deaf was a heavy burden.

“Before the YEP project, I used to be a victim of mockery. I made a living repairing used shoes but it was not really what that I wanted to do in life. Thanks to the support through YEP, I was trained in market gardening and I have been working with it since February 2014. It is not at all easy and I still have some difficulties being economically independent, but I am convinced that I will make it in the end since the harvest from the gardening is selling at the local market.”

Elodie and Brahima’s literacy teacher, Toh Jacques, is also deaf, and tells of the challenges facing the deaf and hearing impaired in Côte D’Ivoire:

“The hearing impaired are suffering rejection and stigmatisation. NRC is the only humanitarian organisation in the region that has initiated a project that takes into account the needs of disabled youth. The project is considerably facilitating the social reintegration of hearing impaired youth by teaching them life skills and vocational skills.”

NRC’s Youth Education Pack (YEP) is a one-year programme made up of three main components: literacy/numeracy, life skills and vocational skills training for out-of-school youth. The objective of the programme is to socially reintegrate 2000 vulnerable youth by supporting them in obtaining an income-generating skill. NRC has been running the programme in collaboration with local partner organisations in western Côte d’Ivoire since 2012.

Reporters Without Borders deplores the closure of a Mishapi Voice TV, a popular privately-owned radio station in Goma, in the eastern province of Nord-Kivu, on the alleged grounds that its broadcasts were disrupting air traffic control communications at Goma’s airport.

The station’s transmitter was dismantled and removed on 23 March by representatives of the Congo Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ARPTC), who said it was jamming the frequency used by the Air Transport Authority (RVA) for air traffic control in Goma.

“We condemn Mishapi Voice TV’s arbitrary closure and point out that it was not up to the ARPTC to take such a decision, which should have been referred to the public prosecutor’s office,” said Cléa Kahn-Sriber, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Africa desk.

“In the event that the station’s broadcasts were interfering with the RVA’s radio communications, why didn’t the ARPTC just assign it a different frequency instead of closing it down or demanding that it buy a new frequency? Everything suggests that this was a reprisal of a political and business nature.

“Unfortunately, the victims are the population of Goma and the surrounding area, who are being deprived of news and information, and the station’s journalists, who have been put out of work. We call on the ARPTC to stop this undue meddling and to allow Mishapi Voice TV to resume operating.”

It so happens that Mishapi Voice TV’s owner, local businessman Adelard Mineene, is currently embroiled in a legal battle over the failure of a microfinance company he ran, in which senior provincial officials were involved.

Mishapi Voice TV’s closure may have been designed to put pressure on Mineene in this legal dispute – a suspicion supported by the fact that the ARPTC suggested that the radio should buy a new frequency for 25,000 dollars, a sum that it already spent to get its existing frequency in 2012.

Democratic Republic of Congo is ranked 150th out of 180 countries in the 2015 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

In 2012, World Vision Niger Livelihood and Food Security program started a four-year project on the transformation of moringa. As part of the project the team in Tahoua organized a training of trainers (TOT) in 2014 on the various techniques of processing moringa leaves and seeds for 20 women.

Moringa leaves are part of local diet in Niger. The main objective of the training is to teach women how to diversify it use and sell it to sustain their families. From 2012 to 2013, the women were trained on how to plant moringa trees. By last year, the trees were matured and had produced good leaves, so the team was able to start moringa transformation sessions.

The women who participate in the training were either proposed by the community women’s group or are interested and willing to learn. The 20 women trained are expected to train their peers. Ramatou Saidou was one of the lucky women that got trained. After participating in moringa transformation training organized by World Vision Niger in 2014, Ramatou’s life has changed.

“My name is Ramatou Saidou, am 42 years old mother of six children and I live in Tchinkaki village (11km away from the town of Tahoua). Before the training I use to prepare moringa with peanut paste, tomato and onion to give to the children. This is the common way we eat moringa. At the time I could never imagine that moringa can be use in so many different ways,” she says. “But today, thanks to this training I support my family without even waiting for my husband to send money. This activity is a blessing to me because I can earn between a 1000 to 1500 cfa (2.00 to 3.00 US dollars) per day through the sale of moringa biscuit and powder but when I sell the oil, I can earn up to 90.000cfa (165.00 US dollars). I also learn that moringa is a remedy that can cure diseases such as diabetes and ulcer. Mothers with malnourished children come often to buy moringa powder.”

Ramatou explains how to prepare moringa biscuit and oil.

“To prepare the biscuit, you need to have 250g moringa powder 1kg of wheat flour, 100g sugar, 100g butter. Mixing the ingredients and dividing the dough into small balls. Use your hands to flatten them and fried them. My children really love the biscuit.

“To prepare the moringa oil, first you dissect the seeds, after you pound and sift them to get a flour. When you have the flour you continue to pound it, but this time you will add a small quantity of hot water and till you get oil.

“I hope my instructions can help other women to transform moringa leaves and seeds for the benefit of their families,” Ramatou says smiling.

Given the fact the Niger is a country known to be influenced by natural disasters such as flood and food insecurity, World Vision made a strategic decision to focus on resilience in 2013. Today the food security and resilience programme continues to improve the life of rural communities through its intervention by first acting on the root causes of food insecurity. All the activities are undertaken through a dynamic team of development facilitators which are focusing on improving food production and helping communities to have access to food and be able to utilise it throughout the year. This year World Vision is planning to train more women like Ramatou.

A press release will be issued shortly on the fast deteriorating human rights situation in Yemen, with dozens of civilians killed over the past days.

We are shocked by Monday’s airstrike against the Al-Mazraq camp for internally displaced people in Harad, in the north of Yemen. There are different accounts as to how many people were killed in the airstrike, but UN human rights staff in Yemen have verified at least 19 fatalities, with at least 35 others injured including 11 children.

In Dhale, the 33rd armoured division and Houthis-affiliated brigades reportedly attacked three hospitals, causing an unknown number of casualties.

Heavy fighting has also been reported in the streets of Aden, resulting in casualties.

Since 27 March, at least 93 civilians have been killed and 364 injured in Sanaá, Sa'da, Dhale, Hudayda and Lahj.

Private homes, hospitals, education facilities and infrastructure in several locations have been destroyed. Civilian airports as well as electricity supplies have also been targeted by airstrikes in Sa’da, Sanaá and Hudayda.

Hundreds of people are reported to have fled their homes in Sana’a, Sa’sa and Dhale and are now displaced.

We condemn all attacks on hospitals and call on all sides to protect civilians from harm, and to fully respect international human rights law and humanitarian law.

(2) Syria

We are deeply concerned by the human rights situation in Idleb, in north west Syria, after the city fell under the control of a coalition of anti-government armed groups last Saturday, 28 March.

On Sunday, Syrian Government airplanes reportedly shelled a Red Crescent hospital in Idleb city, killing at least 15 civilians. Further attacks by the Syrian Air Force have been reported on a number of towns and villages in the governorate of Idleb, including Sarmin, Mantaf and Nayrab. Civilian casualties resulting from these attacks have been reported but we do not have a confirmed number of dead and injured at this point.

We have received information about the execution of at least 15 detainees held at a detention centre of the Military Intelligence Branch by retreating Government forces on Sunday.

Witnesses report that hundreds of families are on the move seeking refuge in villages along the border with Turkey. The armed opposition groups now controlling Idleb have also reportedly been evacuating the civilian population from residential areas for fear of further government attacks.

We are also deeply worried about threats by armed opposition leaders to attack the predominantly Shia villages of Al-Fu’ah and Kafraya, north east of Idleb city, in retaliation for the Government’s attacks on Idleb. The two villages are reportedly being besieged by opposition groups and there is a clear risk that their Shia populations will suffer reprisals.

We remind all parties to the conflict of their responsibilities under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including their obligation to protect civilians.

(3) Somalia

We strongly condemn the terrorist attack on the Maka al Mukarama Hotel in Mogadishu, on 27 March, resulting in the death of at least 18 people, including Ambassador Yusuf Mohamed Ismail “Bari Bari,” who was Somalia’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva and played a crucial role in advancing human rights in Somalia.

His tragic death came only a day after a Human Rights Council resolution creating the mandate of an Independent Expert on the enjoyment of the rights of persons with albinism was adopted by consensus – a development due in no small part to Ambassador Bari Bari, who was the first diplomat to push for the plight of persons with albinism to be placed on the agenda of the Human Rights Council.

We send our condolences to his family and the families of all the victims caught up in Friday’s attack.

A press release will be issued shortly on the fast deteriorating human rights situation in Yemen, with dozens of civilians killed over the past days.

We are shocked by Monday’s airstrike against the Al-Mazraq camp for internally displaced people in Harad, in the north of Yemen. There are different accounts as to how many people were killed in the airstrike, but UN human rights staff in Yemen have verified at least 19 fatalities, with at least 35 others injured including 11 children.

In Dhale, the 33rd armoured division and Houthis-affiliated brigades reportedly attacked three hospitals, causing an unknown number of casualties.

Heavy fighting has also been reported in the streets of Aden, resulting in casualties.

Since 27 March, at least 93 civilians have been killed and 364 injured in Sanaá, Sa'da, Dhale, Hudayda and Lahj.

Private homes, hospitals, education facilities and infrastructure in several locations have been destroyed. Civilian airports as well as electricity supplies have also been targeted by airstrikes in Sa’da, Sanaá and Hudayda.

Hundreds of people are reported to have fled their homes in Sana’a, Sa’sa and Dhale and are now displaced.

We condemn all attacks on hospitals and call on all sides to protect civilians from harm, and to fully respect international human rights law and humanitarian law.

(2) Syria

We are deeply concerned by the human rights situation in Idleb, in north west Syria, after the city fell under the control of a coalition of anti-government armed groups last Saturday, 28 March.

On Sunday, Syrian Government airplanes reportedly shelled a Red Crescent hospital in Idleb city, killing at least 15 civilians. Further attacks by the Syrian Air Force have been reported on a number of towns and villages in the governorate of Idleb, including Sarmin, Mantaf and Nayrab. Civilian casualties resulting from these attacks have been reported but we do not have a confirmed number of dead and injured at this point.

We have received information about the execution of at least 15 detainees held at a detention centre of the Military Intelligence Branch by retreating Government forces on Sunday.

Witnesses report that hundreds of families are on the move seeking refuge in villages along the border with Turkey. The armed opposition groups now controlling Idleb have also reportedly been evacuating the civilian population from residential areas for fear of further government attacks.

We are also deeply worried about threats by armed opposition leaders to attack the predominantly Shia villages of Al-Fu’ah and Kafraya, north east of Idleb city, in retaliation for the Government’s attacks on Idleb. The two villages are reportedly being besieged by opposition groups and there is a clear risk that their Shia populations will suffer reprisals.

We remind all parties to the conflict of their responsibilities under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including their obligation to protect civilians.

(3) Somalia

We strongly condemn the terrorist attack on the Maka al Mukarama Hotel in Mogadishu, on 27 March, resulting in the death of at least 18 people, including Ambassador Yusuf Mohamed Ismail “Bari Bari,” who was Somalia’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva and played a crucial role in advancing human rights in Somalia.

His tragic death came only a day after a Human Rights Council resolution creating the mandate of an Independent Expert on the enjoyment of the rights of persons with albinism was adopted by consensus – a development due in no small part to Ambassador Bari Bari, who was the first diplomat to push for the plight of persons with albinism to be placed on the agenda of the Human Rights Council.

We send our condolences to his family and the families of all the victims caught up in Friday’s attack.

London, March 31, 2015 – More medical supplies and trained health personnel are urgently needed in Yemen as the violence there escalates, but bringing in this essential support is currently impossible, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Tuesday.

Clashes across the country in recent weeks, in addition to airstrikes which began on March 26, have led to huge needs for medical aid in many parts of the country, for those injured or displaced by the conflict. But the closure of all the international airports in Sana’a, Aden and Hodeida, and heavy restrictions on the seaports, are hampering the delivery of humanitarian assistance. “MSF is currently unable to deploy additional emergency medical staff to Yemen, where they are badly needed,” said Dr Greg Elder, MSF Director of Operations. “We urgently need to find ways to get humanitarian relief and personnel inside the country.” MSF has already treated hundreds of people wounded in the recent violence, but the current inability to send in medical supplies and trained personnel means the situation is reaching a critical point. “We must provide support to our field teams who are exhausted and overloaded. Even reaching the areas of greatest need within Yemen is difficult, as domestic flights have been cancelled and movements inside the country are risky,” said Elder.

Fighting on the ground has proliferated, especially in the south of the country where MSF has been receiving large numbers of wounded. At its Emergency Surgical Unit in Aden, MSF has received more than 550 patients since March 19, as a result of clashes in Aden, Lahj and other areas in the south. On March 26 alone, 111 patients arrived at the hospital. “We have had to use our office space, equipping the rooms with mattresses to receive the wounded,” said Dr Hani Isleem, MSF doctor in Aden.

Not only is there a shortage of specialised medical personnel to deal with the large numbers of wounded, but even those available are facing difficulties. “It is still dangerous for us,” said Dr Isleem. “Even getting to the hospital is very risky.” Meanwhile, in Ad-Dhale’ governorate, where MSF supports the emergency wards in Al-Nasser Hospital and in Qataba, 67 wounded have been admitted since March 24.

In northwest Yemen, an MSF team is supporting the emergency ward of Haradh Hospital. The hospital received 34 wounded yesterday as a result of attacks in the area of Al Mazraq IDP camp, in addition to 29 people who were dead on arrival. Roughly 500 new families had arrived at the camp in recent days, escaping bombings in the western area of Saada. “Very few humanitarian actors have stayed in the country, while the needs are actually getting greater and so more supplies and human resources are required on the ground,” said Dounia Dekhili, MSF Programme Manager for Yemen. “With the conflict continuing, the risk of facing a shortage of drugs and medical supplies is real. We need to be allowed to ship humanitarian assistance into the country by air, sea or land.” MSF is also calling on all parties to respect the neutrality of medical facilities and personnel, and to allow the injured unhindered access to medical assistance.

MSF first worked in Yemen in 1986 and has been working continuously in the country since 2007. MSF currently runs medical projects in Sana’a, Amran, Aden and Ad-Dhale’ governorates in Yemen, and provides medical aid to different parts of the country during emergencies.